The first batch of an expected 2,500 U.S. Marines to be deployed in Australia began work Wednesday, April 4, as Washington bolsters its presence in a strategically vital region, to the irritation of China, according to AFP.
Some 200 Marines touched down in tropical Darwin overnight as part of an enhanced defense cooperation outlined during a visit by U.S. President Barack Obama in November that rankled Beijing.
The troops are in the Northern Territory on a six-month rotational basis and will be based at Robertson Barracks on the outskirts of the city, building to some 2,500 by 2016-17.
In a joint statement, Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Defense Minister Stephen Smith and Northern Territory Chief Minister Paul Henderson welcomed what they said was the latest chapter in a more than 60-year alliance with the U.S.
The latest move represents a significant geo-strategic shift by Washington and it has irked Beijing, whose rapid rise is reorienting Asia's balance. China has said the Marines deployment is proof of a "Cold War mentality".
